Chapter Eleven: A Letter from Mother

Tao Ming gritted her teeth, inserted the key into the lock, turned it twice, and opened the door.

Inside, darkness reigned. Tao Ming groped along the wall beside the door and discovered a switch. She pressed it—an overhead chandelier flickered to life, illuminating a barren room with nothing but a tea table at its center.

Perplexed, Tao Ming circled the small building once more, muttering, “Strange, where does the electricity come from?” Finding no clues, she let it go, entered, and approached the tea table. There she found a stack of papers covered in neat handwriting, written in simplified script—far more elegant than her own.

She steadied herself and began to read.

“Ming Ming, how dearly I wish this letter would forever remain hidden here, never to meet your eyes. But since you’re reading it now, decide for yourself what to do thereafter. I have always been lively and mischievous since childhood, constantly getting into trouble, driving your grandmother to exasperation. Yet no matter how angry she became, she could never bear to punish me.” Tao Ming felt a pang of understanding; Soft Soft was a mischievous child too, often giving her headaches.

“I am not from Earth. I hail from a distant planet, whose true size is unknowable. We call our homeland Wei Waters, named for the great river that flows north to south—the river itself is called Wei Waters. I come from the downstream Qi Luo tribe, whose people raise silkworms and weave silk for their livelihood. Your grandmother is the tribal chief.”

“My childhood name was Tao Sisi. I was groomed from birth to become the next chief and never received a formal name. Tribal chiefs take the tribe’s name as their own, so your grandmother is called Qi Luo. Women have always ruled the Qi Luo tribe, and as the future chief, tradition forbids me from marrying out; instead, I must invite a husband to join our household.”

“When I turned ten, your grandmother began searching for a suitable spouse for me. Don’t think ten is too young; Wei Waters differs from Earth. There are two suns and three moons, each day has thirty hours, each month sixty days, and each year twelve months. Every hour is equivalent to two Earth hours.” Tao Ming thought, “According to Wei Waters’ calendar, I’m barely seven years old; Soft Soft is nearly a year old—what else can I say!”

“Most clans in Wei Waters are male-dominated. For a man to join his wife’s family is hardly honorable. In the end, a groom was chosen from the Chen family’s eldest branch downstream: the fifteenth young master. Wei Waters reveres cultivation; noble families have their own traditions, lives are long, and children are many. Your grandmother birthed twenty-two children, ten of whom are boys. I am the youngest, known to outsiders as Tao Twelve.”

“But I never wished to marry the Chen family’s fifteenth young master, so I fled with my maid. Before escaping, I stole the Qi Luo tribe’s heirloom, the Chaos Blood Silk. I knew your grandmother deliberately left it for me to take; otherwise, why would she suddenly place it on her dressing table when she always kept it close?” Tao Ming recalled she had thought her mother was ostracized by the tribe—that assumption now proved utterly wrong.

“Those days of freedom were blissful, no need for tedious rituals or endless performances for those harboring hidden motives. Later, I met your father. He was being pursued, and I saved his life. Raised as a future chief, my cultivation was high for my age. We fled together, spent every day side by side, and affection grew between us.” The notion of love blossoming over time made Tao Ming uncomfortable…

“Only later did I learn he was the youngest son of the Qin family’s main branch in the royal city, named Qin Siyu. No matter how close we became, he could never join the Qi Luo tribe as a live-in son-in-law. When we were cornered, ready to die together for love, one object changed our fate.”

Such melodrama—Tao Ming was at a loss for words.

“That object is a true artifact, called the Celestial Shift. Through its power, we escaped to this place.”

“When we arrived, a great river lay before us, which we named Wei Waters to ease our homesickness. The place where you lived with Banxia is where we first settled.” Tao Ming remembered a river north of Lotus Ladle City called Wei River, known as Wei Waters in antiquity—so that’s why.

“We followed Wei Waters and found a city called Xianyang. Disguised as refugees, we slipped into Xianyang and lived in secret.”

“We merely wished for a quiet life, but your father and I had always been served since birth, even our maids enjoyed luxury. Neither of us knew how to trade or farm, and surviving without magic proved difficult. Your father’s education was all about assisting royalty, so he took the alias Li Si and helped the Ying clan unify Qin. The rest you’ve read in history books.”

Tao Ming was stunned—her parents were truly extraordinary, almost mythic! If their story were made into a drama, no one would believe it!

It also made sense now why the small seal script, common in Wei Waters, appeared in Qin—her father was the cause all along!

“We faked our deaths and escaped, using magic to cut off a stretch of the Qin Mountains and store it within the Chaos Blood Silk. We also took a segment of Wei Waters and placed it atop the Qin Mountains. The two of us, along with our maid, entered the Chaos Blood Silk to live.”

“Worried that the people of Wei Waters might come searching, we dared not have children. Yet, after a long time with no one coming, I conceived you. Not long after your birth, your father’s Qin family jade pendant crumbled into dust. He discussed with me his wish to return to Wei Waters and learn what had happened.”

“I didn’t trust your father to go alone, so I decided to settle you before following him. When we left the Chaos Blood Silk, we discovered the world had reached modern times. It took much effort to secure a place for you and Banxia to live. Before departing, I placed a seal on you—you would grow old, fall ill, and die like any normal person, arousing no suspicion.”

“If you must hate me, so be it. I only hope you live safely and find someone you love to grow old with.” Tao Ming’s heart ached—“Mother, I’m sorry; I’ve already divorced.”

“Since you’ve entered the Chaos Blood Silk, you must be in danger. The Celestial Shift is in the tea table drawer—just let a drop of blood fall on it to claim it. Your father and I have each left behind a portion of our cultivation, enough to keep you safe here.”

“Ming Ming, even knowing the truth, I hope you won’t return to Wei Waters searching for us. Wei Waters is far too perilous; stay here and live well. If I ever return in my lifetime, I hope you’ll recognize me.”

Clutching the letter, Tao Ming was overcome with emotion—she was an alien after all!

After a long daze, Tao Ming decided to first master the Celestial Shift; that way, she could bring Soft Soft back to Wei Waters with greater safety.

She opened the tea table drawer and found a crystal orb, about the size of an egg, clear and smooth, warm to the touch, and weighing no more than a couple of ounces.

Tao Ming regarded the orb in her hand, thinking it looked just like the crystal balls on many chandeliers.

Another blood ritual—if someone found a hundred artifacts, wouldn’t they bleed themselves dry? Tao Ming examined her finger, searched the room, then finally put the orb back in the drawer and exited the space.

As she emerged, Soft Soft stared at her with mouth agape, saying, “Did you know you look different?”

Tao Ming looked herself up and down, puzzled—she saw nothing unusual.

Soft Soft’s mouth remained open: “Did you know you look prettier now?”

Tao Ming gritted her teeth: “Are you saying I was ugly before?”

Soft Soft quickly hid behind Tao Banxia: “I didn’t mean that!”

Tao Banxia gazed at her, expression complicated. After a moment’s silence, she spoke: “Ming Ming, when you entered the small building, the seal on you vanished, so you naturally returned to your true appearance. Your face shape and eyes resemble your mother, your nose and mouth resemble your father.”

Tao Ming opened the wardrobe and looked at herself in the dressing mirror.

Her reflection had changed little—still round-faced, but paler, her skin clearer, her eyes larger, her nose higher. These subtle changes combined to elevate her looks considerably.

Previously, Tao Ming would have rated herself a sixty out of a hundred in a crowd; now she was about seventy. If she lost some weight, she might reach ninety.

She closed the wardrobe and said to Soft Soft, “Soft Soft, let me have some more blood, would you?”